Professional Documents
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As a film or game composer in today's digital age even if living in LA isn't an option you're
at a tremendous advantage: No matter where you are in the world, you can use the Internet as
a tool for finding work, furthering your musical education, marketing yourself, and even
transferring audio files to clients or "attending" job interviews via Skype.
What's more, the Internet has brought with it an exploding demand for various forms of
multimedia, like videos, games, and apps, meaning there are unlimited opportunities to sell
your music online and get it placed on a successful platform. While you likely decided on this
career path for a love of creating music, there is potential for financial reward if you're willing
to persevere.
Of course, the incredible level of accessibility the Internet offers also means that the film and
video game composing industries have become much more competitive than in days of yore.
Your chances of success will depend largely on your ability to market yourself and keep a steady
supply of work coming in, but the good news is that the Internet can make that a whole lot
easier for you, too.
If your undying dream is to move to LA and become a Hollywood film composer, consider that
there are a lot of talented composers who never make it into the blockbusters because the
nature of the business is that it often depends on factors out of your control, like being
discovered by the right person.
With that said, there are a lot of factors that do come down to you: your determination to
become the best composer and producer you can possibly be, build your network, and get busy
securing clients.
The following guide was written to offer aspiring composers a broad overview of the
opportunities available to aspiring composers who want to get their foot in the door and
pursue the art professionally. It's meant to offer a starting point for your journey, equip you
with some career path ideas and marketing tips, and, most importantly, to inspire you to take
at least one action today (and, for maximum results, every day thereafter!). After all,
"Knowledge without action is futile."
Up first is a bird's-eye view of some of the main career paths available online for film and game
composers. Next, we'll cover an overview of skills that working film and game composers will
often be called upon to use at some point during their careers. Finally, we'll lay out a step-bystep blueprint for taking action that you can put to work immediately to get your career on the
right track.
**Disclosure: I am an affiliate for certain products and services recommended in this guide. If
you purchase items through these links, I receive a commission, at no additional cost to you. In
some cases, I am able to offer an exclusive discount when you make a purchase via my link. I
personally use many of the products and services featured in this guide (and many of them are
free!). If you find a product you're interested in, please consider supporting Midi Film Scoring
by purchasing through my link.
Now let's get started!
Part One: The Big List of Online Opportunities for Film and Game
Composers
1. License Your Tracks to Production Music Libraries
You can get your music into films, shows, and TV and radio advertisements by submitting your
tracks to a production music library. A music library is a company that represents a catalog of
music (commonly referred to as production music, stock music, and sometimes "royalty-free"
music) and serves as an intermediary between composers and media agencies. Some libraries
are exclusive, some are non-exclusive, and others give you a choice.
If the company is exclusive, then that particular library will be the only company allowed to
represent your music and pitch it to ad agencies and music supervisors. The advantage of this
particular arrangement is that most libraries will pitch exclusive tracks before they pitch nonexclusive ones, because many clients do not want to purchase a cue that was synced to another
ad or video.
If a library is non-exclusive, then you can submit the same track to multiple music libraries. This
may be beneficial in the long term because you increase the number of outlets and
opportunities for your music to be discovered.
Most libraries will not pay money up front, but you can expect to earn royalties if your music
gets placed.
While the topic of music libraries comes up a lot on film composing websites these days, it's
important to keep things in perspective: Library work is spec work, which is by definition a
numbers game. It can take years to build up a large-enough portfolio to see any amount of
significant results.
In time and with patience, some composers do see a substantial portion of their income come
from library sales, but starting out, it's better to look at it as a way of diversifying your portfolio
as a composer while pursuing other (more reliably paying) opportunities.
I've included a list of popular production music libraries on page 23.
As a video game composer, you can either work for yourself as an independent contractor or
seek employment with a company as a junior audio designer or something related.
The program is free and open to beginners, but each piece undergoes a short review and
approval period by their staff to ensure it's up to snuff. As of this writing, you earn 45%
royalties per sale on the price you set for your music. Best of all, it's a non-exclusive
arrangement and you retain all rights to your work.
Of course, to see maximum results from the program, you'll still need to market your work. See
page 22 for marketing tips.
J.W. Pepper also has its My Score program, where you can "promote and sell your
compositions through the world's largest sheet music network."
Finally, there's ScoreExchange.com (previously SibeliusMusic.com), a big online marketplace for
digital sheet music. This is also a great place to get full scores for free if you're looking for a bit
of fresh study material.
Offer online music lessons: If you have a strong background in theory, harmony, composition,
or even production, you can offer online lessons from your website. Lessons can be conducted
via Skype with the help of desktop sharing software, and course materials and assignments can
be transferred via email or Dropbox.
Write articles and blog posts for music-related publications: Web-based publications need
content to stay current, and lots of it. The sheer number of online publications creates a huge
opportunity for composers and producers to write articles, tutorials, and reviews to be
published on music and audio-related websites and blogs. If you're a musician and a halfdecent writer, you're a prime candidate for these jobs.
With a lot of web-based writing jobs you'll work as a ghostwriter, which means the client
retains full rights to the work (i.e., can claim themselves as the author of the work, modify it,
and so forth). In other cases, however, you may be offered a byline (a blurb containing a brief
bio and perhaps a link to your website or social media account), which can be an immensely
effective way to promote yourself. I cover strategies for landing these types of gigs in more
depth on pages 23-25.
That concludes our overview of online career paths for film and game composers. Even if
you're already a working composer, you may wish to try out some of the side gigs we covered,
such as teaching, writing, etc., to add some variety to your routine and refresh your creativity.
Part Two: Stuff You'll Need to Know to Make Your Clients Happy
I'll go into some great resources for skill development in Part Three of this guide, but for
starters, here's a list of skills that film and game composers and sound designers are frequently
called upon to demonstrate in their work. You should gain at least a basic level of proficiency in
these things as soon as possible.
Part writing for common instrumental configurations (e.g. four or five-part horn
combos)
Common voicing structures
Arranging for a rhythm section (keyboard, guitars, bass, and drum kit)
Writing in both classical as well as various contemporary styles
Fundamental arranging and composition techniques, including modulation, modal
interchange, reharmonization techniques, and counterpoint
You should also be able to notate a professional-looking score using industry-standard software
such as Sibelius or Finale. This will come in handy when creating complex arrangements and
orchestrations!
Musicianship Skills
Technical clumsiness hinders musical expression: If you only know how to play a few basic pop
chord progressions, your compositions will suffer for it. Mastering at least one instrument will
help you immensely when it comes to getting your musical ideas down in a tangible form.
Keyboard is arguably the most useful instrument for a composer to learn how to use. Due to
their intuitive layout, ultra-polyphonic capability, and (in some cases) assignable faders, MIDI
keyboard controllers are especially helpful for sequencing and recording automation data.
Classically trained pianists, while capable of playing virtuosic passages, are often lacking in the
area of improvisation because they learned to play everything by rote. If you really want to
take your creative expression to the next level, a quality keyboard method will help you get
there. I use and recommend PlayPianoTODAY, a fun set of video tutorials authored by awardwinning author David Sprunger. If you set aside just a few minutes a day to work through the
material, you'll be surprised at how quickly your improvisation skills improve.
The more instruments you can play (and record yourself playing), the better. Even just adding
one or two live-recorded parts or layering your virtual instruments with recorded tracks can
make an entire MIDI'd composition sound infinitely more realistic.
Music Business
It's essential for freelance musicians to gain a good grasp of how copyrights, royalties, PROs
(performing rights organizations), and licensing agreements work. You should also be familiar
with various titles in the industry, such as publisher and music supervisor, as you'll be in direct
contact with these types of people on a regular basis.
Social Skills
Most gigs will come from the relationships you develop; therefore, interpersonal skills are
imperative. The music business is in many ways about who you know, so prepare to network
on a regular basis, whether it's through building a presence on social media and relevant online
forums, or by getting out there and attending industry events with business cards in hand. For
best results, do both.
Become proficient at establishing genuine connections, and you'll soon find yourself being
called upon to help out with new projects and opportunities that will advance your career to
the next level.
Part Three: How to Improve Your Skills and Land Your First Gig
In this section, I'll be going over some resources and strategies that you can start putting into
practice today to start mastering the skills and taking advantage of the job opportunities that
we covered in the previous two sections.
Digital audio workstation (for an excellent low-cost DAW for beginning and pro
composers, you can't beat REAPER at $60 a license and a fully functional 60-day free
trial)
Industry-standard music notation software (Sibelius or Finale)
MIDI keyboard controller
Monitor speakers and headphone monitors
Sample libraries (to start with, you'll want a decent orchestral library like the immensely
popular East West Symphonic Orchestra)
Expression pedal or breath controller for controlling mod and expression data (if you
don't have already assignable faders on your MIDI keyboard controller)
For game music composers, an industry-standard sound effects engine for creating
adaptive music (FMOD and Wwise have free noncommercial versions)
Musician's Friend offers international shipping options on a lot of great gear. They run a regular
promo they call their "Stupid Deal of the Day."
2. Get Educated
There are many resources available online to help you hone your skills, from software tools to
books, video tutorials, and online courses from accredited schools. The following are a few of
my favorite resources.
MOOCs
A MOOC (massive open online course) is a free course you can take online with thousands of
other participants. Many of these are offered by top universities. You can browse MOOCs
using aggregators such as CourseBuffet.
Here's just a small sampling of music business, production, and composition-related MOOCs
available at the time of this writing:
Berklee College of Music MOOCs:
Introduction to the Music Business
Introduction to Music Production
Songwriting
Jazz Improvisation
Modern Musician Capstone "The top 10 students who complete the capstone course
will receive a $1,449 scholarship toward a Berklee Online course of their choosing."
Other MOOCs:
Fundamentals of Music Theory (The University of Edinburgh)
Write Like Mozart: An Introduction to Classical Music Composition (National University
of Singapore) I took this MOOC and I highly recommend it!
Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles (The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill)
Introduction to Digital Sound Design (Emory University)
Fundamentals of Audio and Music Engineering (University of Rochester)
Critical Listening for Studio Production (Queen's University Belfast)
New World, New Map: GPS for Today's Music Industry (West Virginia University)
Introduction to Acoustics (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
Courses & Tutorials
Lynda (Audio + Music Tutorials) I'm a huge fan of Lynda. They specialize in software and
technology tutorials in general, and music producers in particular will find a wealth of in-depth
courses here. For $25 a month or $250 a year, you get access to the entire library. I've always
gotten more than my money's worth. Whether you want to learn music production, mixing and
mastering, post production, audio engineering, recording, music business, or how to make the
most of your music notation software or DAW (REAPER, Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, etc.), you can
find it here. If you're more of an interactive learner, there are project files you can download
and work on with the Premium subscription ($37.50).
Example Courses:
Film Scoring with Pro Tools
Producing Music for Advertisements
Getting Started in Audio and Music Production
Selling Music: MP3s, Streams, and CDs
Getting Started in the Business of Songwriting
macProVideo Don't let the name fool you: Windows users can take advantage of these
tutorials too. macProVideo even has tutorials for FMOD (game composers take note) and
Native Instruments.
**At the time of this writing, get a 20% discount if you purchase a course through the
following links:
Orchestration:
Orchestration 101: The String Section
Orchestration 301: The MIDI Orchestra Enhancing Realism
Music Composing & Scoring
Music Scoring 101: Creating Moods and Styles
Studio and Recording: Composing for Commercials
Game Audio
Game Audio 101: Demystifying Game Audio
Game Audio 201: Creating Music for Games
MIDI
MIDI 101: MIDI Demystified
FMOD
FMOD Studio 101: Introducing FMOD Studio
Kontakt
Kontakt 301: Building Sampler Instruments
Kontakt 302: Advanced Instrument Design
Music Business
Music Business 101: Copyright and Mechanical Royalties
Music Theory
Music Theory 102: Harmony
Music Theory 106: Building Chord Progressions
Music Theory 201: Jazz Theory Explored
Studio & Recording Techniques
Art of Audio Recording 101: Introduction to Recording
Art of Recording 203: EQ
Art of Audio Recording 302: The Mix
Audio Concepts
Audio Concepts 104: Delay and Reverb Effects
Synthesis
The Foundation of Synthesis 101: The Synthesis of Synthesis
Berklee Online
If you have the budget, Berklee College of Music offers several courses of interest to film and
game composers at Berklee Online. For-credit courses are $1,449, while non-credit courses
cost $1,200. Berklee Online offers online certificate programs (including "Orchestration for Film
and TV"), and they recently began offering bachelor degree programs (including a degree
program in "Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games").
As a Berklee student, you also get lifetime access to the exclusive Berklee Music Network,
which includes a regularly updated job board and discounts on gear and services offered by
industry retailers to Berklee students.
I have taken several arranging and orchestration courses online with Berklee, and my
experience has been very good overall.
MIDI Orchestration:
Paul Gilreath. The Guide to MIDI Orchestration 4e.
A comprehensive guide to MIDI orchestration beginning with a broad overview of traditional
instrumentation and orchestration and then moving into sequencing techniques, effects
plugins, mixing, and virtual instruments. The diagrams of effective voicing structures for each
family of the orchestra are helpful references.
Arranging:
Ted Pease and Ken Pullig. Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles.
While this book is styled as a resource for jazz musicians, in many ways it doubles as a "Part
Writing 101" course that can be translated to any other genre, which is why I have included it in
my staples list. It covers creative ways of voicing chords and harmonizing melodic phrases for a
small ensemble. However, this book is less beginner-friendly than others I have included here:
It reads like a supplementary text and seems to assume some knowledge of Berklee chord scale
theory. Still, it's one of my favorite arranging references.
Ken Pullig and Dick Lowell. Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble.
A good followup to Modern Jazz Voicings, and a valuable resource if you're interested in
learning how to write big band charts.
Dan Moretti and Matthew Nicholl. Essential Grooves.
A lesser-known book and a useful primer on rhythm section arranging in many popular styles:
soul and motown, funk, hip hop, rock, jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian (samba, bossa nova), and
Afro-Caribbean (reggae, calypso). Comes with a CD/DVD set.
Music Notation:
McGrain, Mark. Music Notation: Theory and Technique for Music Notation.
Learn how to notate scores like a professional an essential skill for working composers.
Film Scoring:
Schifrin, Lalo. Music Composition for Film and Television.
A film scoring "recipe book" by the talented Hollywood composer Lalo Schifrin (Mission:
Impossible), covering genres such as action, suspense, horror, love, comedy, and ethnic and
period music, as well as fundamental film scoring concepts such as syncing to picture, the role
of dialogue and sound effects, and cinematic devices. Helpful score excerpts are included.
It goes without saying that your demos should be your best work and as well-produced as
possible.
Hostgator affordable hosting service with good tech support (at the time of this
writing, get 25% off your hosting package when you use the promo code MIDIFILMSC
on checkout!)
Namecheap domain name registration at an unbeatable price
WordPress.org free open-source blogging and content management software to help
you get your website up with little or no coding necessary (but you can edit the source
code if you so choose)
Awesome WordPress Themes (to make your site look and work great!)
StudioPress offers the powerful Genesis framework, which is optimized for ranking in
the search engines, and a selection of child themes (my personal choice!)
Elegant Themes (affiliate link)
ThemeForest
Mojo Themes
WooThemes
Set up profiles on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter (make sure to
Tweet regularly!).
If you're not on there already, get a SoundCloud account to showcase your work.
Write guest posts for online music and audio publications in exchange for a link to your
website. This is a great way to gain traffic and (in some cases) rankings.
Keep a regularly updated blog on your website.
Network in industry forums.
In some cases cold emailing prospects can be the way to go, but be aware of anti-spam
legislation.
composers, and others are open to everyone. Also, libraries have different terms of use and
licensing agreements, so be sure to review these carefully.
**The following list of production music libraries is intended to give you an idea of the variety
that's available. While most of these are very well known libraries, I don't personally vouch for
any of them. Be sure to do your own research before signing up!
RevoStock
MusicLoops
APM Music
Music Dealers
Killer Tracks
AudioJungle
Beatsuite.com
Jingle Punks
Audio Network
Pump Audio
Don't let some of the low-paying clients scare you off: There are good gigs available on these
sites from time to time, and you can land decent repeat clients if you persevere. I often use
freelance bidding sites as a client, and I have worked with composers and sound designers who
have had success with them as freelancers the key is perseverance.
You don't have to pay anything to create a freelancer account and apply to jobs, though there
are premium plans available with more features, such as the ability to apply to more categories,
apply to a greater number of jobs per month, and view stats (like how much your competitors
are quoting for a job).
You can find a variety of work types on these sites: audio editing, mixing, producing, composing
and jingle writing, recording, sound design, and even freelance writing for music-related
publications.
I recommend picking just one of the following sites to focus on initially and creating a killer
profile before you start applying to jobs:
Elance
Freelancer
oDesk
PeoplePerHour
Guru
FlexJobs makes it easy to filter for the job criteria you want according to category (e.g.
Education & Training Jobs, Entertainment & Media Jobs, Writing Jobs), telecommuting level
(e.g. "100% Telecommuting"), schedule (full-time, short-term, etc.), and more.
Alternately, you can use the site's search feature to bring up listings in multiple job categories
that contain your keyword, which might be something general, like "music," or something more
specific, like "theory teacher."
For example, at the time of this writing I typed "music" into the search field and selected "All
Telecommuting" as the telecommute level. Among the jobs listed were several online music
teacher positions, a customer service job for an entertainment agency, various writing or
copyediting gigs for online music publications, positions for music curriculum creators, and
even graphic design and animation jobs for music-related projects.
By the way, if you have other skills that can be done online say, web design, graphic design,
content writing, or anything like that this is a great place to find work (music-related or not)
that allows you to stay flexible in terms of schedule and location so you can continue to pursue
composing gigs. Something to think about!
Job Search Aggregators
Job opportunities for composers are sometimes posted on the following sites (you may wish to
use keywords such as "telecommute" or "remote"):
Searching for gigs is time-consuming. You can automate the process by setting up Google
Alerts for relevant keywords.
YouTube